Rhubarb Pie with Tapioca

Frequently as I look at recipes from the past, and think about what my ancestors in aprons had in their kitchens, I realize how different our staples were. What things would grandmother and great-grandmother have in their kitchen that I no longer think of as necessary?

Minute Tapioca in its current box.

Tapioca–before the 1900’s old-fashioned ball tapioca, and after that, Kraft Minute Tapioca® in a small red box. Tapioca went on the market in 1894, and you can read the history of Minute Tapioca here.

My mother always had it on her shelf, as did my grandmother, I imagine. So did Agnes Badertscher (Ken’s mother.)

Ken loves rhubarb pie, but he has been after me to make it his mother’s way, thickened with tapioca, so I delved into the comfort food of old–tapioca. Besides making a nice, bland, comfortable pudding, tapioca is handy for thickening all sorts of things.

I made a rhubarb-strawberry pie by accident. Because it turned out the farmer’s booth at the farmer’s market did not have enough rhubarb for a pie, I had to stretch it with strawberries. But I used Minute Tapioca for the thickening instead of flour, for the first time. And it was great. Agnes Badertscher’s way of making rhubarb pie has won me over.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie made Agnes Badertscher’s way with tapioca.

I’m pretty sure that Agnes, as well as my mother, would have initially used the recipe on the package, which has not changed, so I used the Minute Tapioca which has not been a staple in my kitchen for a very long time, and tweaked their recipe just a bit. Be sure to use the perfect pie crust recipe.

About Vera Marie Badertscher

I am a grandma and was named for my grandma. I've been an actress, a political strategist and a writer.I grew up in various places, went to high school in Killbuck, Ohio and graduated from Ohio State University. My husband and I moved to Arizona after graduation and have three adult children. I love to travel and read. I ponder family as I cook. Look for my DNA profile on Ancestry.

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2 thoughts on “Rhubarb Pie with Tapioca”

Like Ken, rhubarb pie, is my all-time favorite pie. Adding the strawberries is actually something Mom (Agnes Badertscher) did late in life sometimes even throwing in a small box of strawberry jello. Yes, sugar overload in these modern times! I think she would definitely be proud of your achievement. The ratio of sugar in the original recipe definitely offsets the tartness of rhubarb (only) in the pie. Thanks for posting and allowing me to savor some memories. Alas, this area of the country has very little rhubarb so whenever I travel to Ohio guess what is the first thing I want for dessert?

Kay, I wish I had your mom and grandmom (and mine, too) to ask questions about these recipes! I’m surprised you can’t get rhubarb in Texas. It is grown around Tucson. I can get it at the farmer’s market from time to time.